After semifinal loss to Kean, women’s basketball is already looking forward to next season

Rowan's Alexis Kriley goes up for a contested shot earlier this year against Ramapo College. Photo courtesy of Rowan Athletics

Rowan’s loss to Kean University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) semifinals was a microcosm of their season as a whole.

There were times, especially in the first quarter, where they put up 20 points and it looked like everything was clicking. They had some great possessions on both offense and defense and looked to be the NJAC winning team they hoped to be.

But there were times when the team disappointed, letting their opponents play their game and make a comeback.

All year, the Brown and Gold struggled with consistency. They would go on a big winning streak, but then drop some games that they should’ve won. In the end, inconsistency culminated into an overtime loss to end their season.

“We’re disappointed,” head coach Gabby Lisella said. “We really felt that we had the personnel to win the conference. We fell short of our goals and expectations.”

It was certainly a fun season, and there’s a lot of positives to take away. There were highs, like big wins over conference rival The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and dominant performances from Dominique Peters with her 30-point game against Kean, and Ayanna Johnson with her 31-point performance early in the season against Rutgers-Camden.

The Profs will, however, lose two seniors in Olivia Rulon and Nicole Byrne.

If those that aren’t graduating this year stay for next season, the roster pretty much stays intact, which is exciting given the opportunity of players growing and improving. Johnson, along with Kennedy Brown and Grace Marshall, were given opportunities to make an impact early on in their careers as freshmen. They will be looked at to be heavy contributors next season.

Upperclassmen like Peters, Alexis Kriley and Kailyn Sytsma will assume leadership roles with next year’s team. That’s not even accounting for any new recruits coming in next season.

The Profs are poised to make the jump from good to great, as the expectations are already high.

“At least as high, for sure [as this season],” Lisella said on the expectations for next season.

Lisella remains optimistic about how far her squad can go.

“We have good, solid talent here and finding a way to mesh them all together in a way that’s going to put us in a position to succeed. We’re already working on it,” Lisella said.

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